He wrote for one of my personal favorites, Buddy Holly (and was on tour with Holly when he tragically lost his life.)

He wrote the theme for the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (rewritten from a song he wrote and recorded with Annette Funicello in 1959.)

At the time of his performance, he was the youngest entertainer to ever play the Copa Cabana.

His 1998 album “Body of Works” included duets with Frank Sinatra, Celine Dion, Patti Labelle and Tom Jones.

In 2004 he released “Rock Swings,” an album that re-imagined rock songs like Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” as swing songs.

He has been named to the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, received the Johnny Mercer Award and is the only artist to have a record on the Billboard charts for six consecutive decades.

And finally…the “new” music that was discovered after Michael Jackson’s death? Co-written with Paul Anka. “This is It” went on to become a posthumous no. 1 hit for MJ.

The source of my odd affection for Paul Anka? A TV show, of course.

Anyone who knows me, knows I am a die-hard Gilmore Girls fan. I can rattle off a “Gilmorism” for nearly any circumstance and know an embarrassing number of episodes by heart. The thing I loved from the beginning was all the pop culture references. [Read more…]